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More than Mardi Gras in the 'City of Festivals'

By Erin Murphy, special for USATODAY.com

"City of Festivals" is one of New Orleans' lesser-known nicknames, but it's well-deserved. A major festival is held in or around the city each month of the year. Everyone knows about Mardi Gras (which took place this year on Feb. 24) but here's the lowdown on several other major celebrations.

Essence

The largest African-American entertainment event in the country, the annual Essence Music Festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this year from July 2-4. Billing itself as "The Party with a Purpose," Essence offers its more than 200,000 attendees free Empowerment Seminars during the day that feature nationally known authors, lecturers, activists, and scholars. Past speakers include Faye Wattleton, Walter Mosley, the Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, and Tavis Smiley. At night, more than 50 acts appear on five stages at the Superdome. This year's lineup includes Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, Missy Elliott, Freddie Jackson, the O'Jays, and Anthony Hamilton.

Festival goers can peruse a variety of arts and crafts from local and national vendors while sampling Louisiana cuisine. A book fair allows fans to meet their favorite authors and have their books signed. Corporate sponsors such as Kraft Foods and Chevrolet will offer activities and festival souvenirs.

Nightly tickets start at $35 and are also available in discounted packages. Complete travel packages, including airfare and accommodations, are available through Essence's designated tour operator, Destination Management. For details, visit www.essence.com.

Southern Decadence

New Orleans' largest gay event, Southern Decadence, is so popular that it manages to lure more than 120,000 attendees each year during the sweltering Labor Day weekend. The annual "Celebration of Gay Life, Music, and Culture" has more than doubled its size in the past five years and now has an estimated economic impact on the city of almost $100 million.

Scheduled for Sept. 2-6, Southern Decadence has its roots in a 1972 party organized by the impoverished but creative residents of a run-down French Quarter house dubbed Belle Reve after the home of Tennessee Williams' faded Southern belle, Blanche DuBois of A Streetcar Named Desire. In keeping with the theme, the friends — both gay and straight — invited their guests to dress as their favorite "Southern decadent." The party became a yearly tradition, complete with a parade and a grand marshal, but stayed relatively small until the early 1980s. From that point forward, Southern Decadence transitioned to primarily a gay event and began to grow by leaps and bounds.

Now, the festival is essentially a very large party that lasts for days on end, featuring dancing, a parade on Sunday afternoon through the streets of the French Quarter, dancing, pool parties, dancing, what's billed as "the South's largest leather block party," and more dancing. The Southern Decadence parade is considered one of the wildest in New Orleans, showcasing costumes ranging from creative to kinky.

With Southern Decadence's success has come controversy. A local preacher as well as the archdiocese of New Orleans petitioned the city government last year to ban the festival because of lewd sexual acts that he caught on videotape. The mayor's office declined the request, citing the significant economic impact the festival has on the city. While the uproar didn't hurt attendance at the 2003 festival, organizers responded by creating a volunteer security team that reminded rowdy revelers to cool things off before their activities violated legal ordinances.

Weekend passes that include all scheduled events cost $60, with the price due to go up in March. Numerous hotels offer discounts and packages for Southern Decadence. For details, visit www.southerndecadence.net.